Unusual Circumstances
by blucross
Summary: Trevor Bruttenholm found a letter on his desk and found that it's been on there for over a year! Opening it, he finds that he is the guardian of his great-nephew! It looks like there's going to be a kid in the Bureau.   Bad Summary
1. Chapter 1

Howdy ya'all! I probably shouldn't be posting another story, but this is my dad's Christmas gift. ^-^ Hope ya enjoy!

Unusual Circumstances

PROLOGUE

The wind was blowing gently; it was a decent afternoon, thought one Lily Potter nee Evans, considering it was October twenty-second. With Halloween right around the corner, she thought it would be colder outside, but was thankful for the small gift; it would be better if it stayed a little warmer outside than the temperature predicted, for that way her family could go out and play in the backyard. The thoughts of her family brought a serene smile to Lily's lips as she thought how perfect their little family was. Hearing giggles from behind her, Lily turned to her husband and fifteen-month-old child as they played in the play pen. Smiling as she saw her husband lying on his back as he threw her boy up in the air and caught him, she chuckled at the cheerful shrieks that came from the smaller male.

Watching the two males play, Lily noted with satisfaction that, while Harry would grow up to be the spitting image of his father, her baby would have her eyes, the not-often-seen emerald green eyes that set her apart from her sister, along with her parents. It was strange, she thought to herself, that her baby would inherit that particular trait from her. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful, she loved sharing her eyes with her precious son, but looking at her husband and child, Lily could not shake off the foreboding feeling that was growing rapidly in her heart.

Turning back to the window, she watched the little town of Godric's Hollow as it moved on with its daily routine, with the children playing amongst themselves in the streets, and the adults going about their daily lives whilst keeping an eye on the children. A sigh left Lily's lips, soft, but weary in sound. She leaned her forehead against the slightly cool glass of the window as she closed her eyes for a moment in silence. Speculating on what she would do, Lily's thoughts were interrupted by the pitter patter of small feet on the ground, heading towards her.

Lifting her head from the window, Lily felt, rather than saw, her little Harry tug at her pants. Turing towards her child, Lily looked down to see a small frown mar his face. Picking him up, she held him in her arms, and gently asked, "What's wrong, my little Harry?"

Said toddler looked up at her, and Lily saw the same emerald green eyes she owned staring straight back at her.

"Mommy sad," Harry told her, his voice sounding soft to her ears, quite different to what it was just moments ago. "Why?"

"Mommy's not sad, sweetie," Lily told her child a half-truth, "she's just tired today." Seeming to understand this, Harry nodded at her.

"Then Mommy sweep," Harry said, and Lily gave a small smile at hearing her boy talk. "Mommy sweep with Hawwy."

"Mommy would love to sleep with Harry," Lily cooed, rubbing her and Harry's noses together, causing the boy to laugh sweetly. "Why don't you get Daddy to put you in bed? Mommy will be up very soon."

Putting Harry down to the wooden floor, a wide smile appeared on his face as he waddled over to his father to get him ready for his nap.

"You'll be up soon Lils?" James asked, scooping Harry into his arms again and heading towards the stairs that led to their bedroom.

"Yeah, I just need to write a quick letter." Lily replied as she made her way towards the study she and James shared to start the letter.

Entering the study, she quickly sat in the tall leather chair as she grabbed lined paper- she couldn't use parchment, it would cause problems- a quill and an ink pot to begin her letter.

_October 22, 1981 _

_Dear Uncle Trevor,_

_How are you doing? It's been a little while since we've talked, hasn't it? I hope you have been doing well. Unfortunately, the reason why I'm writing to you is not just a social call, though it would be wonderful if it were._

_You see, back in Wales, we're being hunted by a very unpleasant person who goes by the name of Voldemort__…_

0o0-0o0-0o0

Trevor Bruttenholm let out a sigh as he sorted through his desk; there were stacks of papers at varying heights, and he was somewhat surprised that some of them hadn't fallen over due to their height.

Stopping to stretch his stiff muscles- he had been trying to sort through his desk for well over two hours- he was about to leave to grab a cup of coffee when he noticed an envelope sticking out of one of the taller stacks of paper. His curiosity piqued, Trevor carefully pulled the envelope from the stack, watching as the pile of paper tilted dangerously to the left. Paling slightly, Trevor steadied the stack of papers before sitting down in his comfy black, leather chair before grabbing the envelope. The envelope turned out to be a letter, and judging by how the envelope crinkled in his bony hands, it had bee here for quite a while.

Flipping to the front of the envelope, as he had been staring at the back of the envelope, Trevor paled once again as he saw that it was from Lily, his sweet, little niece all the way back in England. The last time he had seen the girl was in '87, when he attended her wedding. It was curious, he thought to himself, why had she sent it through normal mail when she could have sent it by an owl? He knew that his niece had access to high-quality owls that would no doubt be able to make the trip to New York, thanks to her new husband, who was loaded, apparently.

Trevor smiled, thinking about his niece's husband; he was a good man, had a decent head on his shoulders and would treat his niece the right away. There was no doubt that they loved each other when he observed them interacting with the guests at the wedding reception. It had been a somewhat small wedding, mainly friends and family from both the bride and the groom.

Putting thoughts of his niece's wedding out of his head, Trevor took his letter opener, the one that had a dragon's head on the end of the handle, and took out the letter. Opening it up, Trevor looked at the date and stared. The date the letter was written was October of '81, and it was almost '83. Cursing silently at himself for not finding this sooner, he began reading.

_October 22, 1981 _

_Dear Trevor,_

_How are you doing? It's been a little while since we've talked, hasn't it? I hope you have been doing well. Unfortunately, the reason why I'm writing to you is not just a social call, though it would be wonderful if it were._

Trevor frowned. If his niece was sending him a letter about the war that was taking place in Wizarding Europe, he had hoped it was news saying that it was over.

_You see, back in Wales, we're being hunted by a very unpleasant person who goes by the name of Voldemort__…_

This was already looking bad, Trevor thought to himself, really not liking the way this letter was going.

…_and is currently trying to find us because of a prophecy, which, basically says, that my baby boy is going to be the one who's going to kill him one day. And that means that he's going to kill all of us._

Trevor frowned. What did this have to do with him?

_For a while now, I have been having a foreboding feeling that's been growing every day; I know that something bad is going to happen, and very soon. So I am asking of you, should something happen to James or I, and we both end up not being able to take care of him, please take him in! If there were any other choice, I wouldn't have asked this of you, but there is no other choice; knowing Professor Dumbledore, he will take Harry and have him live with Petunia and Vernon._

Trevor paled; Petunia absolutely hated Lily, the girl was so jealous of her younger sister that she would mistreat the poor child should he ever be forced to go to them. Having a sinking feeling, Trevor turned his computer on and searched for anything pertaining his niece. Finding nothing, Trevor began to feel a large amount of remorse. If what that letter was saying was true, then his great-nephew was probably starving somewhere in England, trapped somewhere uncomfortable. Slightly trembling, Trevor read the remaining part of the letter.

_The Professor truly has Harry's best interests at heart, but doesn't know how bitter Petunia is. So I ask of you once more Uncle Trevor, please, if _anything_ should happen to James or I, take him in, raise him to be the best he can be, and tell him about us, so that he knows that, though his time with us was so short, he was always loved._

_To help pay for expenses, I've given you a copy of the key to our Gringotts vault in America; you had a fantastic idea of opening one here in America, it may just be coming in handy. There's also a vault for Harry's trust fund for Hogwarts, which James and I would like him to attend, as we are Alumni of Hogwarts._

_I wish you luck and a happy retirement in the Bureau, for I'm fairly certain that this will be the last form of communication that you and I shall have._

_With love,_

_Lily Potter nee Evans_

Trevor's head fell into his hands as he the last line of the letter kept going through his head. A tear slid down his cheek in sadness, but he wiped it away. Lifting his head from his hands, Trevor pressed his finger to the intercom that connected him to the secretary.

"Bring me Hellboy."

0o0-0o0-0o0

So what'd you think? Hope you like it. Idk if my dad did or not… (: ;(


	2. Chapter 2

"Well ain't this nice," Hellboy muttered to himself, walking down the darkened street of Privet Drive. Pulling his coat tighter to him as to hide himself from possibly curious eyes, he made his way down to Number 4, not liking that he would have to talk to a bunch of psychos that might have abused his cousin. When Trevor had assigned him to go to London to find a kid, he wasn't exactly pleased; when he found out that he was related to Trevor, he began to warm up to the idea of having a kid brother. After all, who wouldn't want a sibling to get in trouble with?

Reaching the intended house, Hellboy knocked on the door, and a few moments later he could hear the grumbling of a man as he came to closer to the door. When the door opened, Hellboy was met with the sight of a large, beefy man, who he assumed to be Vernon Dursley. Vernon Dursely, as stated before, was a large and beefy man with a thick neck that didn't look to be there. His round head had beady eyes that bore into Hellboy, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes at the man.

"Yeah, yeah, I know; freak of nature, bizarre, freaky, yadda yadda ya. Now let me in, it's cold outside." Hellboy made his way into the plain looking house as Vernon stared at him, a vein starting to appear on his forehead. Hellboy smirked, knowing that he'd get a rise out of the man easily.

"What are you doing here? Who are you?" Dursley finally found his voice, demanding answers that Hellboy replied to, looking somewhat disdainfully at the house he was currently in.

"The name's Hellboy, and I'm here for my little cousin." Hellboy stated, smiling a bit at being able to see his new cousin.

"What? You will not take Dudley from us; I won't allow it!" Dursley raged, and, as if on cue, Dudley waddled into what Hellboy presumed was the living room that they were currently in. Dudley looked incredibly similar to his father, with thin blonde hair that layered his head, beady eyes that were a watery blue and a rather large belly for an-almost-four-year-old.

"Duddikins, where are you sweetums?" A high, somewhat nasally voice called from another room. Hellboy then heard footsteps and watched the door as a long-necked female came in, with brown hair that came down to the middle of her neck. Her face, which had been smiling whilst she, presumably, looked for her son changed to disgust.

"Who are you? And what do you want?" Petunia demanded in a much similar fashion to her husband.

"So you're Petunia, eh? Can't say it's a pleasure meeting you. The name's Hellboy, and before you ask, again, I'm here for my little cousin. Trevor sent me."

Petunia's face clouded with anger. "You will not take my baby away from me!"

Hellboy snorted. "Don't worry, I'm not here for a beach ball." A thoughtful look grazed Hellboy's face as he imagined the Dursley baby being bounced back and forth over a volleyball net. He snorted again.

"Well then we don't know what you're talking about. It's just the three of us here." Dursley replied, and Hellboy frowned; looks like this was about to get ugly.

"How about I rephrase this so that you might be able to understand. I'm looking for my little cousin, who goes by the name Harry Potter." Hellboy repeated, and by the expressions on Petunia and Dursely's face, their answer was not going to be one that he liked.

"In an orphanage; we didn't want him, we were forced to take him in by some old fart who kept on about the 'Greater Good'. Please. We weren't going to keep that little freak near my son; he would have been a bad influence. As soon as we read that letter, we took him away from our _normal_ home." Dursley replied, looking haughtily at Hellboy, as if challenging his to say anything against him.

An orphanage? Well, that probably was better than living here. God knows that these people would have starved him and locked him up somewhere. He did see a cupboard under the stairs on his way on.

"Well, that just makes this easier for all of us then. Tell me the name of the orphanage and you won't hear from me again." Hellboy stated, counting his blessings that he didn't have to stay here much longer.

"Why should we tell you?" Dursley demanded.

Or not.

"If you don't want your face smashed in, I suppose. That's always a good reason." Hellboy started ticking off the ideas on his fingers. "Or maybe I'll just tell that old man that you decided to just give away the savior of his world to some random place where he might be abused. Yeah, I think I'll go ahead and do that." Rising from the tan-and-burgundy couch he was sitting on, he saw the couple pale at the mention of the old wizard from coming to their house.

"Wait! We'll tell you; he's at the In Lumine orphanage! Just don't let those freaks know. Filthy creatures that they are will tarnish the house." Petunia exclaimed, muttering as she started to list all the 'un-normal' consistencies about her sister.

Hellboy snorted; humans were so easy to scare. Standing up, Hellboy made his way out of the room, stopping at the door to stare down the Dursely's.

"If I find that my little cousin has been in any way or shape abused or neglected, it'll be your head rolling down a bowling lane." Hellboy then left, his threat enough to scare Mr. and Mrs. Dursely into submission.

Slamming the door on his way out, Hellboy sighed, making his way to the In Lumine Orphanage, hoping that this fiasco of a trip wouldn't turn out for naught.

0o0-0o0-0o0

Keara MicKinnsey sighed as she put little Harrison down in his bed; he was the last to be put down for the night. Quietly making her way across the room, she turned off the lights and made sure the night-light was on before gently closing the door on her way out of Harrison's bedroom.

Making her way down to the kitchen for a cup of tea before bed, she sat down at the head of the kitchen table, waiting for the water to boil. Idly, she twisted a lock of her long blond hair that was generally held in a high ponytail.

Keara MicKinnsey was the Matron of the In Lumine Orphanage; while it might have been burdensome to look after so many kids with a short amount of money to use, she believed it to be a rewarding experience; after all, it wasn't too often that you met children like Harrison.

When Harrison had arrived at the doorstep of her orphanage- a barbarian way of abandoning a baby, she believed- she had fallen in love with the year-old tot. Upon finding him, Keara had noticed that upon the blanket he was wrapped in- thankfully warm as it was quite chilly that time of year- was embroidered in delicately sewn gold that consisted of the name _Harrison James Potter_.

It had been quite easy for the tot to adapt to life in an orphanage; those that were old enough attended school every day and came home and did their homework before playing with the other children while those that weren't old enough to go to school quite yet- as Harrison was- were taken care of by herself and the other women and men who helped out here.

Little Harrison was a delight to the Orphanage; his lovable, bubbly personality had a natural charisma to it that endeared him to all the children, and to most of the staff, save for a few who were a bit more stern (though they too cared for little Harrison as well). He was always getting himself into mischief, crawling all over the orphanage, creating quite the game of Cat and Mouse, where Harrison was the mouse and the rest of the children were the cats. It was always amusing to watch as he nimbly crawled around the house as the younger children would try to locate him. The game usually lasted to the point where the younger children dragged the elder children in to help find the tot. When he was found, he would surrender peacefully, shrieking in delight as he was picked up and tickled for his wayward actions.

Hearing the pot of water reach its peak, Keara made her way over with her tea as she poured the water into the cup. Taking a sip of the now cool enough Earl Grey, Keara sighed; she knew, for whatever reason, that her days with little Harrison were severely limited. If she could, she would adopt him in a heartbeat; but alas, as the Matron of the orphanage, she could do no such thing.

Lost in her thoughts about he children, she almost didn't hear the doorbell go off. Almost. Rising form her chair, Keara made her way to the front door. Through the door she could make out the image of a very tall and muscled man. Opening the door, she raised an eyebrow at the man.

"Good evening; how may I help you at this time of night?" Keara asked this with honesty and a hint of sarcasm laced into her voice. Why would anyone be out and about at this time of night.

"Yes, my name is Thomas Bruttenholm," the man replied with a distinct American accent, New York if she was correct. "I'm here on behalf of my father; just recently, we found that his niece, Lily Potter, had, along with her husband, died in a most unfortunate way. But not before they had a child, though."

Keara froze as soon as the mother's name parted his lips, and realized that her feeling of being separated from little Harrison had now approached her, and most unexpectedly.

"I see," Keara replied, the sadness thick in her voice. "You've come for little Harrison, haven't you?"

The man, Thomas, nodded his head. "That's right ma'am; there was a letter that my father just received that informed him that Lily- my cousin- wished that he grew up with a loving family, rather than be dropped off at her sister's house; they had never gotten along well, I'm afraid, and she was worried that something bad would happen to Harrison should he be left there."

Keara nodded. "Yes, Harrison has been with us for a little over a year now, lying atop the stairs as I put out the milk bottles. He's been a blessing to all of us since he came."

"I'm sure he has been," Thomas replied with a gentle smile. "When we received letters from Lily, she talked about how her baby was always getting into mischief, just like his father."

"Yes, he does quite often manage to cause mischief," Keara said, a slightly wistful smile upon her face. She looked at the man; he had blonde hair that was cut to about an inch below his ear, green eyes and sharp features. With lightly pale skin, he was, she assumed, 6'1" at the least. Staring into his eyes, she determined whether or not he would be worthy or not of taking little Harrison away. Seeing not an ounce of deceit or malice in the man's eyes, she nodded, and finally invited the man inside the orphanage.

Taking the lead, she made her way back upstairs to where little Harrison was sleeping. "Or not," Keara muttered slightly, seeing the beautiful emerald green eyes of Harrison.

"Now, what are you doing up so late?" Keara asked, her hands going to her waist; though she was shorter than Thomas, she was still a good 5'8" and looked down at the tot as he looked sheepishly at the matron.

"Couldn't sleep," A small, bell-toned voice replied, though it sounded sleepy to Keara.

"I see," Keara replied, not believing him by the tone of her voice. "Well, now that you're up, I would like to introduce you to someone." Keara motioned for Thomas to come up to her side. "Harrison, this is Thomas Bruttenholm, and he's told me that he and his father were related to your mother."

Harrison's eyes went wide as he looked to Thomas standing besides her. Thomas took this opportunity to introduce himself.

"Hey there kiddo," Thomas started, getting down on one knee, "it's nice to meet ya. I'm your cousin from New York City in America. My pops sent me here to see if you'd like to live with us."

Keara smiled slightly at the interaction between the two. Although she didn't want to see him go, she knew that if Harrison decided to leave, he'd be in safe hands. Looking at the expression on little Harrison's face, she knew what his answer would be.

"Really?" Harrison asked, his eyes wide.

"Yep, I'd take you with me back to America; we've obtained all the papers that would enable you to have dual citizenship in America and Britain. How about it?" Thomas asked, his voice gentle, yet filled with excitement as he talked to Harrison.

Harrison nodded vigorously. "Yes!" The exclamation from Harrison, while soft, was packed with excitement and happiness at the opportunity to be with a family of his own.

"Great! Well, we'll leave tomorrow morning, so make sure you get a good nights' sleep, alright? It'll be a long trip." Thomas's voice, it seemed, had lulled Harrison to the point where his eyes were drooping dangerously. Pulling the blanket over her soon-to-be-gone charge, Keara smiled a small but warm smile at Thomas.

"You can stay here the night, then, if you shall be leaving tomorrow morning. You may also join us for breakfast, so that Harrison will have enough time to say goodbye to all his friends."

Thomas nodded his thanks, and Keara led him to a room down at the end of the hallway they were on. It was a simple room with a queen-sized bed, a nightstand, wardrobe and desk.

"I'll wake you around seven-thirty for breakfast tomorrow morning." Keara replied, making her way out of the room. Making her way to back down to the kitchen, she finished her tea before making her way back upstairs to retire for the night. She knew it would not be an easy one.

0o0-0o0-0o0

Thomas Bruttenholm closed the door quietly before locking it and placing a circular object on the middle of the door. Striding over the window, he closed the shutters firmly and placed another of the circular objects on the ledge of the window that could be seen. He waited with his breath held until both the circular objects blinked a green light.

Only then did his tense muscles relax as he took his earpiece. Immediately, the blonde hair and green eyes were replace with a mostly shaven head, two horns and fire-engine red skin.

Hellboy sighed as he was finally rid of that accursed disguise tool. Helpful it may be, comfortable it was not. Cracking his back with a shrug, Hellboy laid down on the queen-sized bed and fell into a decent slumber.

0o0-0o0-0o0

There, my amigos, is chapter two. Please don't kill me for taking so late to update. Next chapter released will be for Looking Back.


	3. Chapter 3

Warning- OC's will be present, and Hellboy probably will be out of character. I tried,

though. And I have nothing against Brits. Enjoy!

0o0-0o0-0o0

Hellboy woke up with a startle as there was someone jumping on his bed. Wait, jumping? On **his bed?** Hellboy looked around, and his eyes met with brilliant emerald green eyes as he realized who it exactly was on his bed.

The two stared at each other while, and Hellboy faintly realized with growing fear that he didn't have the disguise tool with him.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath, for various reasons, such as the fact that he was caught _and _he just swore in front of a kid. Looking back at Harrison, he saw that, instead of fear, he saw curiosity and- happiness?

"Hey kid, mind closing the door? It's getting a bit breezy in here," Hellboy lamely asked the boy, rubbing his hand over his head. How the hell did he get into this situation, anyway?

"Sure!" Harrison eagerly nodded, and went to the door, pushing it closed. A faint blue light appeared around the door before it disappeared.

"The fu-" Hellboy once again refrained himself; he didn't need to get in trouble with Trevor about swearing in front of his little cousin.

"Were you about to say a bad word, Mr. Thomas?" Harrison asked with surprising articulation.

Hellboy thought about this for a moment; there was no use in lying to him, was there? After all, honesty was, while not always the best policy, a good way in getting someone to put a little trust in you. Or so Trevor said.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that kid. I'm trying to hold my tongue around ya', considering you're what, three?" Hellboy replied, also trying to find out how old his little cousin was.

Harrison nodded. "Yeah, I'm about three, or so Ms. Keara told me," Harrison replied. There was a somewhat uncomfortable silence between the two before Harrison ended it, blurting out, " So, what exactly are you?"

Hellboy looked at his little cousin, who stared right back at him. And then he laughed. A belly laugh, (as it would be later referred to by Harrison) the laugh that startled the tot a little; after all, Harrison assumed, by the expression on his face, that it would be rude to ask him so suddenly, for they had just met the night before.

When Hellboy finally calmed, he had a smirk on his face. "You've got some nerve, kid," Hellboy told his cousin, who now carried a worried expression on his face. "I like that."

Harrison seemed to melt as the relief of not being in trouble went away. The kid was too uptight, and Hellboy sure as hell was going to rectify that.

"But really, **what** are you?" Harrison asked, tilting his head slightly to the right. "I've never seen anything like that you."

"Well," Hellboy said, scratching his head, trying to figure out exactly to say it in the way the kid would be able to understand it. He decided blunt would probably be the best way. "I'm basically the prince of demons."

Harrison blinked. "You mean, like the son of the devil?" Harrison asked, equally as blunt. Hellboy nodded. "That's brilliant!" Harrison exclaimed, his eyes shining with excitement and wonder.

It was Hellboy's turn to blink. This kid really was something, wasn't he?

"You really are weird, kiddo," Hellboy commented, a smile on his face as he watched his little cousin grin back at him.

"But back to more important things," Hellboy turned the conversation back to how the kid had entered his room. "How in God's name did you get in here?" Hellboy asked, pretty much lost on how the kid could've managed to make his way into the room. "Hell, I had the door locked."

"Well," Harrison started, "I came to get you for Ms. Keara, seeing as breakfast was almost ready. The door was a bit stuck, so I jiggled it, like Ms. Keara suggested I do whenever a door gets stuck. It got warm for a couple of seconds, and then I was able to get in."

Hellboy raised both eyebrows.

"You really are like your parents, then," Hellboy told Harrison, who sat up a little straighter from his position on the bed.

"Really?" He asked, his eyes lighting up like Christmas had come early.

"Really," Hellboy replied truthfully, knowing a little about the Wizarding World, as he had had some experience with it, considering who he was. "But that's a talk for later kiddo. Right now, we have to get down to breakfast, unless we want Ms. MicKinnsey to come and drag us down by out ears."

Harrison giggled, reminding Hellboy that he was only three, despite how well he could talk.

0o0-0o0-0o0

"Speaking of talking," Hellboy began as the two descended down the staircase- he had already changed back into his normal disguise, and warned his little cousin to keep quiet about it- and made their way to the dining room, where breakfast was being served, "how come you can speak so well?"

Harrison tilted his head, a mannerism Hellboy learned that occurred often with the boy. "I've been around a lot of adults and older kids, and they're teaching me a lotta words and stuff, I guess," Harrison said, a thoughtful- well, thoughtful for a three-year-old, anyway- expression on his face as they turned into the dining room. The thoughtful expression slipped away as soon as he saw his favorite caretaker, though.

"Good morning, Ms. Keara!" Harry exclaimed, running over to give her a hug, which was accepted easily.

"Good morning Harrison, Mr. Bruttenholm," Keara greeted, smiling down at her favorite little boy. Hellboy nodded his greeting- he wasn't exactly a morning person- and looked around the room, seeing children of various ages. There were kids as young as Harrison, and some that were older than him by ten-thirteen years, if he had guessed correctly.

"Everyone," Keara gathered the attention of the children and other caretakers, "This is Mr. Thomas Bruttenholm, Harry's cousin from America, and he'll be taking Harrison with him today." There was silence as the looks of the occupants in the room that were fleeting before, were now fully centered on him.

"Good morning'," Hellboy greeted the room, "It's nice to meet ya'," He said, talking a seat by his little cousin, who had waved him over so he wouldn't sit near anyone else. That seemed to break the ice with the children, for they soon started asking him question- a lot.

"Where are you from in the United Stated?"

"Ney York City."

"Is it big there?"

"New York City is, if that's what you mean."

"How come you're talking funny?"

"What do you mean funny?" Hellboy asked, not really minding the twenty question since he had a cup of coffee in his hands, graciously provided by the Matron.

The kid who had asked him, who looked to be about nine, had wavy black hair that reached halfway down his neck, lightly tanned skin, and dark amethyst eyes. If Hellboy wasn't mistaken, the boy was of Italian descent, to say the least. "Well, you sound like you have a New York City accent, but you also sound British."

Hellboy chuckled; the kid was good at picking out that detail.

"Well, I am of European descent," Hellboy replied, "and my father spent a long time in Britain before he left for the states, so I probably got that from him. It's kinda weird, now that you mention it, that he still has an accent from here." Hellboy rubbed his two fingers against the skin above his lip, as if he had a mustache, making the children at the table, including the kid. Turning back to him, Hellboy asked, "What's your name, kid?"

"Antonio," The kid, now identified as Antonio replied, "Antonio del'Angelo."

"Nice name, kid," Hellboy commented, really believing what he said. There was something about the kid, something he was curious about. He'd talk to the Matron before he left.

0o0-0o0-0o0

Breakfast was a merry event, to which Hellboy snorted at as soon as he thought it, with all the kids gibbering and gabbering about anything and everything, though Hellboy noted with pleasure that Harrison got on well with all the kids at the orphanage, and the caretakers. He seemed to bring life to the party, as the phrase often went, and knew that life with his little cousin would certainly be entertaining, especially about what Ms. MicKinnsey said to him of the mischief his little cousin caused.

After breakfast, Hellboy told Harrison that he could play a little more with his friends before they left. Harrison nodded happily, and went to go shriek and giggle with the rest of the kids.

Walking over to Ms. MicKinnsey, he watched the children play for a bit.

"They look happy," Hellboy commented, and the Matron nodded in agreement.

"Yes, they do," Ms. MicKinnsey replied fondly. They stood in silence for a few more moments before Hellboy decided to bring Antonio up.

"I was meaning to ask you," He began, garnering the Matron's attention, "how long has Antonio been here?"

Ms. MicKinnsey raised an eyebrow, but proceeded to answer his question. "Antonio's been here for about four years, since he was about three."

"Three?" Hellboy asked, surprised, "He's only seven?"

"Yes," she replied, "he looks older, doesn't he?"

"I thought he was nine," Hellboy responded, watching Antonio interact with the other kids, Harrison included. It appeared, at least to Hellboy, that Antonio was a little fond of Harrison, which suited him better in the long run.

"He's originally from Italy, as you might've guessed," the Matron continued, "brought by his mother, who died shortly after they arrived, unfortunately."

"That is sad," Hellboy agreed. Left alone in the world, like his little cousin. 'Not if I have my way, though,' Hellboy thought, smiling a little.

"You seem awfully interested in Antonio," Ms. MicKinnsey commented, gazing at Hellboy through the corner of her eyes. "Any particular reason?"

"Well," Hellboy began, scratching the stubble on his disguise face that wasn't worth shaving off, considering he wouldn't be wearing it for much longer, "I thought my little cousin might like someone to play with on our way back to the States."

The Matron's head turned towards him. "Are you implying that you wish to adopt Antonio as well?" She queried, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"I'm not implying," Hellboy responded, and the Matron's eyes narrowed a little further. "I'm asking."

Ms. MicKinnsey blinked, before she smiled.

"Yes, I do believe that Harrison might like a companion on his journey. I'll see to it."

Hellboy merely nodded, and watched as the Matron walked over to one of the other caretakers under her command, telling her what she wanted. The other caretaker, about 5'5" with straight brown hair, looked a little surprised, but nodded and left with a smile on her face, probably to pack the suitcases for the two boys.

It didn't take too long for the suitcases to be packed, and so the caretaker soon came down with two suitcases and two little backpacks, which Hellboy believed to be filled with things to do on the way to the States. Handing the packs to Hellboy, the caretaker nodded to Hellboy.

"You're doing a good thing," The caretaker said. "Adopting Antonio, I mean," she added. "Though he doesn't show it, Antonio gets lonely somewhat easily, and he and Harrison get along quite well, despite Harrison being here for a little over a year. They're probably the closest."

Hellboy smiled. "I figured my dad wouldn't mind taking him along with my little cousin; we have plenty of room, and can easily provide for him as well."

The caretaker nodded and walked away, and Hellboy decided that it was about time for him to leave- after all, hi had to return to New York.

"Harrison, it's time to leave," Hellboy called to his little cousin, who, after giving cheerful goodbyes to his friends, went over to Hellboy.

"Why do you have two backpacks?" Harrison asked, his bell-toned voice laced with curiosity.

Hellboy smirked. "You have lost of questions, don't you?" Harrison merely nodded. "Well, you'll just have to find out, won't you?"

Harrison only stuck his tongue out at Hellboy, who snorted and turned his attention to the next important matter.

"Hey kid," Hellboy called out to Antonio, who looked up. 'That lady was right,' he thought, 'he does get lonely pretty easy. Time to turn that frown upside down.' Hellboy paused. 'Did I really just say that? God, stupid Brits and their bloody awful cheerfulness.' Hellboy motioned him to come over with him.

"Why are you looking so gloomy?" Hellboy asked, bending down to one knee to look Antonio in the eye.

"Har's leaving," the Italian said, sounding sad. Hellboy chuckled at the nickname, causing Antonio to stare at Hellboy, a little offended.

"And?" Hellboy asked, amusement in his eyes, though his tone was placating.

"I won't be able to see him for a while." Antonio replied once more, sadness creeping into his voice once again.

"Why not?" Hellboy asked, starting to like this question game.

"I won't be able to see him again." Antonio replied, still sounding sad, but also confused, which Hellboy was aiming for.

"Really? Last time I checked, you were coming with us, so I don't see why you're so sad." Hellboy commented, watching with a slightly smug smile- though it was a more cheerful smile ('Damn Brits,')- before leaping onto Hellboy, the small arms of Antonio wrapping around Hellboy's neck.

"Really?" Harrison's voice chimed in, and from the corner of his eye, Hellboy could see the look of pure joy on his little cousin's face at the revelation.

"I wouldn't have the second backpack if I didn't planned on bringing Antonio with us, kiddo," Hellboy replied.

"Thank you!" Antonio cried. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Calm down kid, lest you give yourself a heart attack," Hellboy chided, though there was amusement in his voice as he said this to the excited seven-year-old. Once Antonio had calmed down, Hellboy asked, "Are you ready to leave, you two?"

Both children nodded eagerly, and Hellboy stood up, taking Antonio up with him.

"It's a good thing we're taking a cab to the airport," Hellboy muttered, though both boys could hear him. Hellboy turned his thoughts to Antonio. "You do realize you're a heavy little monkey, right?"

Antonio giggled, but kept his hold on to Hellboy's neck.

"It's alright, the suitcases are already in the taxi," Ms. MicKinnsey informed Hellboy, who nodded his gratitude.

"Great," He replied. "It was nice meeting you," Hellboy put his hand out, and Keara MicKinnsey took it, smiling.

"Yes, it was a pleasure," she replied. "Have a pleasant flight, and don't cause any trouble for Mr. Bruttenholm not." The last part she directed to the two orphans, who replied with a resounding,

"Yes ma'am!"

"Off you go, now." The Matron said, escorting the trio to the door.

"Bye bye!" Harrison and Antonio called out to the other orphans who were waving emphatically behind the Matron.

Hellboy, with Antonio still attached to him, walked down to the street where the cab was waiting for him, and buckled the two boys in before getting into the front seat himself.

"Where to, sir?" The cab driver asked, smiling slightly at the sight of the children in the back.

"Heathrow Airport(1), if you'd please," Hellboy replied, turning to look at the boys in the back, who were gibbering excitedly. "You guys ready for an adventure?"

"Yeah!" The boys shrieked, and the cab driver took that as his cue to start the journey to the airport. Little did the two youngsters in the back of the cab know that this would be the last time they would see the In Lumine orphanage.

0o0-0o0-0o0

Exciting! Little Harry gets a playmate! And if anyone can guess who Antonio is based off gets free internet cookies! XD I am sorry if Hellboy sounds OoC, though I'm kinda liking him like this. Needless to say, he will be a lot like his in character self, though a bit more controlled around the kids, maybe…

Anywho, computer access has been limited severely due to grades not being in a good range, though I'm trying, for everyone's sakes, to get out as many chapters of all my stories-to which I have not abandoned at all- for my stories as I can. My muse likes this story, to say the least. Lol.

Please review! I'm much more likely to actually write more during my limited time if I get more reviews. It's nice to feed the Author with reviews.

blucorss


	4. Chapter 4

**AN at the bottom. **

0o0-0o0-0o0

He was on the plane, seated in the aisle seat and wondering whether he should have done what he had done. What exactly was he talking about? The two little horrors next to him, of course. He must've had a sappy moment or something, and now he was living to regret it. Having two single-digit brats on an eleven hour flight wasn't going to fun. Sure, he didn't mind the two kids, that's what kids did, but he was pretty damn sure that the rest of the flyers wouldn't appreciate it. Looking around, he could see the annoyance creeping into the flyers around them.

"Hey, brats," Hellboy said, gaining the attention of the two kids who looked as if they were on a sugar high. Did their caretakers put candy in their bags?

"Yeah?" Harrison asked, looking up to Hellboy, his attention completely on him. Hellboy blinked, but chuckled, noticing that he had Antonio's as well.

"I know that you're all excited to be goin' somewhere new, but ya gotta tone it down some. Ya can't be too disruptive, there are others ridin' on this flight with us, too." Hellboy thought he explained this pretty well, considering one was seven and the other was three. Though with the comprehension Harrison was showing, he wasn't too sure about what he couldn't understand.

"Okay," Harrison replied happily, going back to the book he had pulled out, drawing Antonio's attention back. Though they were still jabbering on about God knows what, it was at a considerably lower level and he could see the annoyance leaving the faces of the flyers, a few going so far as to send him appreciative looks.

Settling back into his seat, Hellboy swept a few locks of his blonde hair out of his face- he had his disguise on- as he leaned back in his seat, planning to catch a few z's before cracking open a book on law; Trevor thought he should do something productive with his life instead of tracking down killers and keeping the peace (which he thought was a perfectly good way to spend his life). And so, he decided he'd taken a crack on being a lawyer; it fit well with what he was doing now, just not as violent. He was close to getting his license as a lawyer, having taken this trip as a reprieve from the amount of studying he was doing (apparently it was border-line obsession, or that's what Kate told him…). This was meant to be a short vacation before he took his test, and so Hellboy figured he'd relax a bit. Closing his eyes, he listened to his little cousin rambling on about…Crayola?

"…Crayola is a congregation of factories that make various coloring utensils such as markers, color pencils, paints, etc." Harrison stated. Hellboy opened his eyes and observed him curiously, watching as Antonio listened to him, enraptured. "Did you know that Emerson Moser, the senior crayon maker- another coloring utensil by Crayola- is color blind?"

Hellboy chuckled at his little cousin before closing his eyes again. It was curious, he thought, that little Harrison knew as much as he did. He was beginning to suspect that his cousin's comprehension levels were far above that of someone his age, possibly prodigy-like. When they were settled in back home, he would have to get Trevor to run some tests; if what he was thinking was true, then his little cousin had the aptitude to be a genius.

Evening his breathing out a bit, he smiled to himself; he knew that the following years were bound to be highly amusing…

0o0-0o0-0o0

Hellboy was rousted from his nap about two hours later when one of the flight attendants was coming down the aisle, passing out drinks. Ordering himself a coffee- black, no sugar- he watched as Antonio ordered a bottle of apple juice Harrison tried to order tea for himself.

"What do you mean you have no tea?" Harrison asked, his eyes going wide. Hellboy snickered mentally; his cousin, he was sure, was bound to get many things out of Trevor that way; Trevor was a sucker for puppy eyes, and the kid had a killer pair.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," The flight attendant, a redhead in her mid-twenties, tried to appease Harrison, "we don't carry tea as it's not a popular drink with the majority of our fliers." Harrison's lip jutted out, and the look on his face probably broke the flight attendant's heart.

"But why don't you carry tea? Aren't there fliers from Europe who've requested tea before?" Hellboy had to hide a laugh behind his hand as he saw his little cousin's eyes shine. Damn, the kid was good. The flight attendant herself was becoming distressed at the look on his cousin's face, and Hellboy knew that she was going to cave in soon.

"How about I get you some chocolate milk then? Would that be all right?" She asked, and she was rewarded with the puppy dog look going away to replace excitement.

"Chocolate milk? That would be brilliant!" Harrison beamed and the flight attendant cooed at him before telling him that she would be back with it in a few minutes- although they were in second-class seats, they were three to four rows away from first class- and that she needed to get to the other passengers before she could get his chocolate milk. Harrison nodded eagerly, beaming at her once more before pulling out his book- a new book this time- to read again. True to her word, the flight attendant was back in a little bit, bringing a nice-sized bottle of chocolate milk, along with two chocolate chip cookies.

"Here you go sweetie," she said, placing the chocolate milk on his tray along with a cookie. "I brought you and your friend a cookie since you've been such good boys on this flight, too." She smiled sweetly at them causing Antonio and Harrison to beam at her.

"Thank you!" The two of them chirped happily, chomping into their cookies with the vigor of kids their age.

"Yes, thank you for putting up with him; he can be a little picky sometimes." Hellboy thanked the flight attendant as well, flashing her a smile. He was amused when he saw he blush.

"Oh, it- it was no problem," the flight attendant replied, stuttering a bit. She quickly made her way back to the little station the flight attendants had for themselves. Hellboy was sure that she was gossiping to the other flight attendant about him.

"Hey Tom," Harrison said, catching Hellboy's attention, "how long is it before we get there?" He asked, his head tilting to the side. Hellboy smiled slightly; it was such a kid-like thing to do. He noticed that Antonio was looking at him as well, most likely wanting to know the answer as well.

"Let's see…" Hellboy pulled the sleeve of his shirt up- he was wearing a white button-up t-shirt- and looked at his watch. "Well, we took off at 'bout 11:30 this morning, and it's 'bout 3:45 p.m. currently, so around six and a half hours to go, boys."

"Ehh? What are we going to do for that long?" Harrison whined, staring up at Hellboy with wide eyes. Hellboy chuckled at the antics of his cousin. Antonio wasn't too bad, though he was older than Harrison by four years.

"You could always cop a snooze," Hellboy suggested, pulling out one of his review books. Maybe Kate was right, he just might have a borderline obsession, but damn it all to hell if he wasn't going to pass this test with flying colors. He looked back to the two kids with him when he didn't hear a reply. "What?'

"What's 'cop a snooze' mean?" Harrison asked, his head tilting to the side once more. This time, though, it was Antonio who replied.

""Copping a snooze' basically means taking a nap, Har," Antonio replied, a single eye open. He was leaning against the wall of the plane as he was by the window. "It's a nice idea, yeah?" Antonio asked with a smile before closing his eyes again.

"Oh," was the rather funny reply of Harrison as he blinked at his best friend before shrugging and lifting the edge of the seat up so he could stretch out as he slept. Hellboy snorted as he saw that Harrison's socked feet- at one point earlier on he had taken off his shoes- were placed on Antonio's chest as he snuggled into his seat. Hellboy chuckled a bit before returning to his review book. Looking at his study guide, he had to list the states that allowed the death penalty; for some reason, he could never remember that…

0o0-0o0-0o0

**Hello everyone, I'm pretty sure you thought I was dead. Alas, I'm still hear, alive and kicking. I'd like to apologize, as I know I have not update ANY of my stories in a long time. I've been going through a rather depressing patch of depression- and writer's block- that I, hopefully, have gotten over. I should be back to updating on a more regular basis (I hope) and would like to thank all of you for supporting this story thus far. I know it's been a while since I've updated, and I appreciate every single one of you who has reviewed, favorited and alerted this story. Truth be told, with all the emails I've been getting as of late for the story and favorite alerts, I believe that to be what got me kicking again, so I thank you once more.**

**Onto better things, I made Hellboy a lawyer! I know, a most definitely interesting twist, no? If you don't like it, that's fine, just know that this will be a topic often brought up in the oncoming chapters, and possibly the center of an arc (you'll have to read more to find out, I suppose. xD)**

**I also plan to have this series in arcs to make things more interconnected, if you can follow that. This is currently the third chapter of the Early Years arc. This arc should be finished in another 3-4 chapters.**

**Oh, I went back and made Hellboy's hair longer. ****J**

**Reviews and constructive criticism is encouraged, and to an extent, flames (please, don't swear, it shows a lack of originality of you can't insult my story without swearing). I know this story isn't going to be to everyone's liking, but I do try, yeah?**

**Smell ya later,**

**blucross**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey all, I know it's been a while since I've updated this story, but do not fret! I have not forgotten this story. However, I shall soon be putting up a poll as to the top 2-3 stories that I should update on a regular basis… I have school, so life is busy. On that note, I do have finals this week (which I have just finished. Yay!) However, I'm leaving for Spring Break tomorrow. Unfortunately for my writing time, I will be gone for half of… I think I'm rambling too much. Geh.**

**Onwards with the Story!**

**Oh! P.S.- So it's been a looong time since I've watched Hellboy- this story was only created as a one-shot, but was developed into a longer story- and so if there's anything wrong, please notify me in a review or a message politely- flames don't make it better; they just tell you that it's wrong and nothing about how to fix it…It'd be cool to have a Hellboy expert helping' out (I'm a **_**little**_** bit obsessed with Harry Potter [read: overly obsessed] so I just need help with my Hellboy stuff).**

0o0-0o0-0o0

Hellboy had finally managed to memorize the states under the death penalty (there were thirty-three of them, he now knew) and had gone through two more cups of coffee; it tasted like crap, but it kept him awake and focused. Thankfully, the two brats (as he was learning to affectionately refer to them as) had been asleep the whole time; whatever energy high they'd been on had ended, leaving two knocked-out kids who had moved so that Harrison was now resting his head on Antonio's chest, rather than his feet.

Flipping to another page of his review study, - had he mentioned it was over fifteen pages long?- he absentmindedly frowned as some of his hair escaped the low ponytail he had made for it about an hour or two ago. Of course, studying the death penalty hadn't been the only subject he had worked on, but he had spent a bit of time on it. Checking his packet, he found he had around seven to eight pages left before he was done. He gave a silent sigh. 'This must be why lawyers were paid so much,' Hellboy thought to himself, hefting out another of his books that he'd brought along for his trip.

Hellboy spent another half hour (at least he thought it was a half hour) studying before he put his books away as the flight attendants started coming out with the provided dinners. He shook the two boys awake, telling them it was time for dinner. Hellboy was thankful that the two boys were just waking up so that he didn't have to hear anymore complaints about tea, regardless of how amusing it had been.

When the flight attendant had finally reached them- it was the same woman from before- Harrison and Antonio had managed to wake themselves up enough to pull down their table-trays as the flight attendant served them their dinners. Harrison, being the possible genius Hellboy thought he was, looked curiously at Hellboy's meal and then at Antonio's and his own.

"Why is your dinner different than ours, Tom?" Harrison asked, seeing the difference between his chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese to Hellboy's steak and vegetables.

"They're different 'cause my meal 's for an adult while yours is for kids your age," Hellboy replied, taking a bite of the overdone steak. "Personally, ya probably got the better deal, kid."

Harrison nodded in understanding, a satisfied look appearing on his face as he ate his meal. Antonio was strangely silent, and when Hellboy took a closer look at the kid, he found that the kid was still half-asleep. Snorting in amusement, Hellboy told the boy that he could go back to sleep when he was done; it was around the two brats' bedtime, anyways (as far as he knew, at any rate), being 8:30 p.m. They'd be landing soon, and once they had collected their luggage, they'd check into a hotel for the night before making their way back to base.

"What time do we land?" Harrison asked, sipping his chocolate milk (which had been kindly supplied to him by the flight attendant).

"Not for another couple'a hours, kid," Hellboy replied, drinking from his fresh cup of crappy coffee. "You should probably get a lil' more shut-eye.

"Okay," Harrison replied complacently, making Hellboy smile a little before taking out his notes to study again. After a few minutes, Hellboy glanced down at his charges, smiling again as he saw both of them asleep again. It was a good thing Trevor would be there at the terminal, considering that the two kids would be asleep when the plane landed.

Smiling grimly, if not a little tiredly, Hellboy cracked his fingers lightly before burrowing back into his packet. If he worked hard enough, he might get past page ten…

0o0-0o0-0o0

By the time the plane landed at the JFK International Airport, Hellboy had managed to get to page twelve of his review packet, which greatly pleased him. Glancing at the two sleeping boys, Hellboy sighed a little; it was going to be tricky to get them out of the airplane without them waking up.

Making sure that he had everything in his over-sized bag, he carefully placed the two little backpacks that Harrison and Antonio had brought with them; thankfully, they both fit, though it was a little stuffed. Swinging that onto his back, he carefully unbuckled the two kids' seatbelts (which he had reconnected when the Captain made the announcement that they were going to land soon) and lifted Antonio to his right arm and Harrison in his left. By the time Hellboy had the two boys relatively secure- both had thankfully curled into him- most of the passengers had exited the plane. Hellboy made his way down the aisle, nodding his head at the Captain and rest of the crew as he made his way off the plane. Walking down the ramp way, Hellboy gave a sigh of relief; while he didn't mind flying on airplanes, he'd rather take other means of travel.

Another sigh, though smaller, escaped him as the warm air hit him; he had always enjoyed the feeling of warm heat cascading over him. As he was now in the airport terminal, he looked around for Trevor. When he had spotted the Professor, the man was busy typing away on his laptop. He easily made his way over, the crowd splitting away from him unconsciously as he moved. A small smirk appeared on his lips. 'Prince of demons, indeed,' Hellboy thought, reaching Trevor. The man didn't notice him right away, however, so he had to clear his throat to get the man's attention. It was clear that Trevor had been focused on what he had been doing, because when Hellboy had cleared his throat, the Professor had jumped a bit in the air.

"He-" Trevor began, but upon looking up at Hellboy, his mouth snapped closed. Hellboy glanced down at the two kids; it'd be troublesome if they woke up now. When it appeared that they wouldn't wake up, Trevor glanced at Hellboy with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll explain later," Hellboy replied in kind, "It'd be great if you could take the backpack though; it'd be easier to carry them that way." Now, Hellboy wasn't saying that they were too heavy, not at all. However, he was currently using the disguise tool, and if they didn't want his cover blown, he was going to have to pretend. Trevor had already figured it out and was carefully taking it off of Hellboy's back. Hellboy was just glad he had insisted on having removable straps when it was being made.

"Thanks," Hellboy said quietly. "Let's pick up my luggage and head home. I'm dead tired." Trevor laughed but started walking with Hellboy over to pick up his luggage before going back to the base.


End file.
